February 20 , 2025 The Beacon • 11

By Josie Sellers For The Beacon

Ayres Hamilton wants to help young women be aware and prepared , and that is why she is organizing Empower Her Defense .

The all-women ’ s selfdefense class is for age 13 and older and will be held Saturdays from 3:30-5 p . m . at the Coshocton Community Center , 201 Browns Lane . There is no cost to attend . Any donations collected will go

“ If people aren ’ t comfortable doing something , I want them to let me know so we can find another way of teaching them ”

Ayres Hamilton toward organizations that protect victims of domestic violence .

“ Lots of girls are traveling more and at a younger age ,” said Hamilton , who is a sophomore at River View

High School . “ So much is happening in our world now too , and sometimes you don ’ t know something is going to happen until it ’ s too late . Self-defense teaches you to look at the

world differently and see things other people might not notice .”

Hamilton has been learning self-defense skills from Travis Berry for the past 9 1 / 2 years . She plans to take what he taught her and use those lessons in her own classes , which will be her senior project at RVHS . Hamilton ’ s goal is to offer the classes over the next three years , and if she goes to college close enough , she plans to continue them even longer .

The classes will focus on stand-up and ground work , exercises , and teaching participants about paying attention to their surroundings .

“ If people aren ’ t comfortable doing something , I want them to let me know so we can find another way of teaching them ,” Hamilton said . “ I want to give people the skills to get out of a situation , take someone down or injure them .”

Her mentor for the project is Halley Jones from the Coshocton Community Center , where Hamilton has been volunteering .

“ A lot of our classes are

Josie Sellers

Ayres Hamilton wants to help young women be aware and prepared , and that is why she is organizing Empower Her Defense . Her project mentor is Halley Jones from the Coshocton Community Center .

geared toward women ,” Jones said . “ When Ayres came to me with this idea , it seemed like a perfect partnership . These classes will help people both physically and mentally . We want to empower women in our community .”

A starting date for the classes has not been set yet . An announcement will be made on the Empower Her Defense Instagram and

Facebook pages . Class participants are being asked to bring gloves with some type of padding and water and to wear clothes they can move in and tennis shoes .

“ Come try something new ,” Hamilton said . “ Don ’ t be afraid to do something out of your comfort zone .”

No experience is necessary to participate .

Josie Sellers

The West Lafayette Homecoming Fireworks Committee wanted to get a jumpstart on fundraising for the annual fireworks show at its July event . A gun raffle , which raised about $ 4,800 , was held to start the fundraising . The winners were drawn Feb . 14 at Rainbow Hills . The winners were Jodi Helms and Dustin Legg . The group needs to raise $ 10,000 for the fireworks and will hold boot drives in West Lafayette . Pictured drawing the winners are Trevor Hawkins and Stephanie Hawkins .

GET A FREE HOME VALUATION

Area high school seniors are encouraged to apply for scholarships available through the Coshocton Foundation .

The deadline to apply is Friday , February 28 .

Apply online at our website www . coshoctonfoundation . org